The Government has pledged £8m to free up 500 homes for rough sleepers

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has reacted to news that government has pledged £8m to free up 500 homes for rough sleepers in Greater Manchester:

“Homelessness is a growing problem for cities across England. It won’t be solved by doing more of the same. It needs new thinking and new solutions.

“This is why I welcome this new funding from the Government to allow Greater Manchester to pioneer our own Housing First approach. Our plans will help more than 500 people to sustain a life off the streets by providing a home plus personal support.

“Greater Manchester is developing genuinely innovative solutions to tackling homelessness and that is why we were the first UK city to achieve Vanguard status from the Institute for Global Homelessness. We are building a movement for change across Greater Manchester society with the clear goal of ending the need for rough sleeping here by 2020.

“Across our communities, we have a shared passion and determination to do something to help. The Government’s financial support has come not a moment too soon.”